Technology changes; humans don't

July 30, 2008

The recent flurry of posts on "the death of blogging" or blogging versus twitter versus [insert latest cool tool here] are mute. It is the motivation behind the effort that is interesting - our human [and business need ] for connection and expression and the impact that micro-connections have on our memory, analysis and objectivity. There is a big difference between living in the moment and stepping back and analyzing an event, business or feeling.

There is benefit to both - and they are not interchangeable. Living
& communicating in the moment serves one purpose and so does thoughtful
analysis. More varied media creation adds layers and multiple facets to our experiences and personalities. The important distinction is when personal crosses into professional
without full disclosure - i.e the impact on journalism, promotion, PR
and marketing. This is not about whether it is a blog or "an official newspaper" - it is knowing the role of the individual communicating and understanding whether the 'content' is analysis or spur of the moment observation.

As blogging and social media grow up, tools as labels are less important.

Am I a "phoner" because I use the phone? No. A phone can be used for an interview with a journalist, to order cable service to phone sex. It is the role I play in each, who I am communicating with and the objective of the call that makes the difference.

The same holds true for blogs or tweets or videos - the tools is simply that a tool.

Related posts [in case you missed em]:

Fred on real time blogging - well said - the distinction between sharing experiences later versus during. Just compare the difference between sharing your recent vacation with non-connected friends and family to the ones who follow your flickr or twitter stream - BIG difference - not better or worse- just different.

Scoble on Tech blogging: What Robert taps into here is the blurring of the lines. He got into blogging to learn cool stuff and share his experience then he got an audience and then somehow the lines got blurred and is he now journalist, PR shill? There is a value in both professional formal analysis and observational discussion - we just need to know the role the communicator is playing.

July 14, 2008

I was on a plane to NYC last week and missed Brian, Jeremy & Jeremiah's great posts on "social media is NOT conversation". AMEN! Point being that the current social software tools impact SO much more than simply talking.

I too dislike the phrase Social Media and have shruggingly accepted using it because - frankly, I am often accused of over-complicating this stuff. Well, this stuff is complicated! The social web is not ONLY about Media and it is not ONLY a new channel. It is powerful stuff. I have posted about this before [here, here and here for starters] but the way some are embracing social media reminds me of the first incarnation of the web when everyone thought it was only brochure-ware or "new media" until people realized,
"Oh my goodness, e-commerce? I can sell stuff here? This impacts
customer service, product development, government, organizations,
family? friends? lifestyle?

The internet is fundamentally about connection and communication, but that is only the surface. We need to dig a little deeper. The low hanging fruit is to see it only as communication and "conversation". Communication fuels human connection and human connection fuels everything from - well - procreation to war.

Now, here is a perceived irony...

I have spent the past 8 months working with the world's largest marketer - P&G- to develop a Social Media Lab. The objective of the Lab is to spend some real thoughtful time and analysis on understanding how the social web impacts the relationship between company and customer, how P&G can better serve their customers within the social media space and what are the potential new business models for technology partners and start-ups in this space. We have partners and brands developing experiments exploring the realities of this new world.

So, you would think I sold out, drank the cool-aid and am enabling the exact behavior I rail against. This couldn't be further from the truth.

This stuff is so new and complex -- no one knows all the answers or even exactly all the questions. P&G has always been an innovator when it comes to understanding people and as much as I am bringing new ideas inside their walls, I am learning just as much from them about how to think about these issues. P&G understands the social web is indeed about you and me and looks at this new world from the lens of earning a place in their customers’ lives and where they should or should not be engaging.

Call me Don Quixote, say I am tilting at windmills, but when they approached me I saw it as a huge opportunity to transfer knowledge between some really smart folks in the social web space and the world's largest advertiser to create the world I want to live in. I would rather be part of enabling and educating and leading the way on what works and what doesn't than to sit on the sidelines.

Is this easy? NO. Big changes never are. There is no manual, no guidelines and no rule book - and don't let anyone tell you differently! Will there be stumbles before there are wins - definitely. This is a marathon and not a sprint - there will always be shiny new objects to play with but as you know "technology changes, human's don't". And we people are complicated!

I plan to share more in the coming weeks and months on this blog as well as in a few new places to be named later. I look forward hearing your feedback and thoughts.

Why is Google transcendent and Yahoo a takeover target? Compare the following: Sue Decker, president of Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO), addressed the advertising industry during a keynote this morning at the 2008 Advertising 2.0 New York conference.

July 06, 2008

For several days my brain has been connecting the blogstorm over AP trying to dictate how much of their content can be quoted on the web with the "quote" that Nick Carr lifted from one of my blog posts in his Atlantic article -- I finally figured out why.

July 04, 2008

In addition to the traditional sentiments behind today, I like to think of July 4th as a celebration of the courage of the few who knew in their humanitarian guts that their current situation was simply unfair. They banded together to execute a grander vision.

For me, July 4th is about the transformative power of having the courage of your convictions, a creative vision and how passionate groups of individuals can bring on major change [kinda like the potential for the web, ey]